


Outlander's Frenzy

by captainofthefallen



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Concelhaut fight, F/M, continuing to take liberties with the lovers' rings, not really sure how to tag this one, she gave me the idea in the first place, this is more or less exactly what happened in my playthrough, this one is actually completely madison's fault, title comes from the rage ability for non-barbarians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 15:15:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11854239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainofthefallen/pseuds/captainofthefallen
Summary: Edér's POV of the Concelhaut fight (this is more or less what happened to me the first time I played through it--with some added drama and liberties taken with the lovers' rings as always). Cross-posted from tumblr.





	Outlander's Frenzy

He can feel it when she falls unconscious. 

None of them were expecting this, not so soon after surviving the fight of their lives against the Master Below, but maybe they should have been. Maybe if they’d prepared more, if they’d taken better stock of what they’re up against… 

It doesn’t matter. As it stands, he, Pallegina, and Hiravias are the only ones still standing, and everyone else can count themselves lucky that Concelhaut wants them alive. If not for that…

He knocks aside one of the guls with his shield and tries not to think about it. Still, it’s enough to distract him long enough that he takes another hit from Concelhaut’s Giant Fucking Hammer. He’s sure it has an official name, but at this point he _really_ doesn't care. Giant Fucking Hammer just about sums it up. 

His reflexes get him enough out of the way that it doesn’t knock him out cold, but that’s about the only good thing that can be said about the situation. To his left, Hiravias takes down the last gul, but one of the skeletons hits him squarely across the back of the head a moment later and he falls right next to Aloth. To his right, Pallegina ducks an attack from another skeleton and cuts it off at the knee, but she’s tiring, and she’s exhausted all her healing spells. 

Concelhaut flicks a wrist lazily, and the Giant Fucking Hammer stops hovering a few feet from Eder to strike at Pallegina. 

She falls, then, and he’s all that’s left. He’s the only thing standing between this decaying corpse who has no right to anything like a life, and his Watcher’s soul.   
He tightens his grip on his shield. It’s down to him. And he’ll be damned if that bastard gets anywhere near her. 

The last skeleton, the one who took out Hiravias, goes down with a blow from his shield and a slash of his saber. At least now it’s just him and Concelhaut. Nothing left to distract him from–

The blow knocks him off his feet and halfway across the room. He forgot about the hammer. Shit. 

Blinking to clear the spots from his vision, he struggles to his feet, leaning on the desk to keep himself standing through a wave of dizziness. Fortunately for him, Concelhaut’s attention is no longer focused on him, or he might be dead already. Unfortunately, it’s because he’s turned his entire focus to the Watcher. 

Later, he’ll consider that maybe he understands where barbarians get their rage from, how it drives them to do impossible things. In the moment, though, all he knows is that she’s in danger and he’s the only one left standing who can stop it. 

The next several moments are a blur of protective rage. He charges Concelhaut with barely enough presence of mind to duck under the Giant Fucking Hammer, _slamming_ into him as hard as he can, putting all his weight behind his shield. The archmage’s dead eyes shift their attention to Edér, and then, finally, he starts to take him seriously. 

When he woke up this morning, Edér was not planning to one-on-one duel some undead, super powerful, famous wizard, but he leaps into it without hesitation. 

He’d do a lot worse if it meant keeping her safe. 

Thinking back on it, he realizes it’s a damn miracle he even survived, let alone that he actually managed to kill that monster. When Concelhaut falls, though, he barely even cares. He takes two seconds to make sure he’s not moving, and then he’s at her side, feeding her what remains of his strength through their connection. 

_Be okay,_ he begs her silently. _Wake up._ He knows she’s alive–he can feel the almost-drained well of her energy–but that doesn’t stop him worrying. If Concelhaut did something to her… 

She awakens with a gasp, glancing around in wide-eyed, disoriented confusion. Then her gaze settles on him. 

“Edér?" 

He helps her sit up, his hand lingering on her shoulder for a moment longer than is strictly necessary, reassuring himself that she’s okay, she’s alive, he can’t hurt her anymore. "You’re okay,” he says, as much to himself as to her. “He’s gone." 

Her eyes sweep the room, taking in their unconscious companions, a few of whom are beginning to stir. "Did you…?” She doesn’t finish the question, regarding him in something like awe. He ducks his head, blush creeping up his cheeks, and shrugs a shoulder. 

“Had to do something,” he says in what he hopes is a casual tone, though he fears more emotion gets through than he’d like. “He was gonna take your soul." 

One of her hands reaches up hesitantly to touch his face, and his body stills even as his heart stops. That, or it’s beating so fast he can’t even tell anymore. For a moment, he half-hopes, half-fears that she might feel for him even a fraction of what he feels for her. But then she seems to steel herself, the tenderness in her gaze replaced with a teasing light that he loves regardless. "You look like shit,” she says with a smirk and a wink, dropping her hand to good-naturedly smack his shoulder. 

It’s far more similar to their usual interactions, but just for a moment, it hurts. Beyond that moment, though, he’s glad. He knows, despite the front she puts up, that she’s certain tracking down Thaos will be the end of her, one way or another. How much more would it hurt her if she had something to lose? 

No. He can’t ask that of her. Can’t ask anything of her. She has enough burdens resting on her without adding his feelings to the mix. All he can do is be at her side, and make sure she stays alive. And there’s nothing on all of Eora, living or dead, that will hurt her while he’s still breathing.


End file.
